Robert passed away suddenly at his home in Victoria, BC. Predeceased by parents, Edward Raymond Kosonic and Winnifred Mary McConkey of Etobicoke. Survived by the love of his life, his wife, Julie Marie Luckevich; brother, Dave (Dorothy); sister, Christine Beckett; nephew, Ian Beckett; niece, Jocelyn Doucette; 5 great nieces and nephews; goddaughter, Claire Lapointe and a large extended family on Julie’s side.
An excellent husband, son, brother-in-law and uncle, Robert was the quiet one who could be relied on. When others were stressed, his helping hand and quiet compassion would cheer them up.
Robert was loved and respected by all who knew and worked with him. He had a 20 years plus career with BMO Nesbitt Burns in Toronto. At BMO, he was a valued member of the Risk Management team where his years of experience and dedication to his work were very much appreciated.
Robert (aka Super Sonic and Treb to his oldest friends) was an accomplished self-taught guitar player and had a brief but memorable mid-life career in a rock band, playing the El Mocambo being one of the highlights. Led Zeppelin was his favourite band, with Jimmy Page and Stevie Ray Vaughan being two of his idols. He had an encyclopedic knowledge of guitars, rock and blues music and musical styles. While working full-time and caring for his parents in their later years, he developed a hobby of buying, restoring and selling Fender Stratocasters and other guitars locally and on eBay. He loved buying guitars that had seen better days. He would lovingly sand and polish the ax, replace worn out parts with new ones, re-string, perhaps relic it, or install new tuners, a pick guard and even re-fret on occasion (a difficult task). He would make the best new ax out of an old one, and then pass it on to another guitar player to be loved and cherished.
Robert loved his cats, Weasel, Smokey and Panther, and could be relied upon to have a soft heart whenever creatures in distress were concerned, human or otherwise.
He made the best cup of tea ever. He had the most beautiful blue eyes that sparkled and he had a quiet but wicked sense of humour that you could miss if you weren’t paying attention. We cherished every day we had this beautiful man in our lives.
Robert loved music, sunshine, the ocean, bright colours and Hawaiian shirts. No black please.
Visitation will be held from 10 a.m. – Noon at McCall’s Funeral Home, 1400 Vancouver Street, (Johnson & Vancouver Streets) Victoria, BC on Saturday, March 26 with a Service to begin at 2:00 pm. Interment this summer at McNeil Cemetery, Priceville, ON.
In lieu of flowers, donations to CAMH Foundation in his memory would be valued. www.supportcamh.ca/givetribute.
Condolences may be offered to the family below.
McCall’s Funeral Home
www.mcallbros.com
26 Responses
Hello Jim,
Unfortunately, we can not post this on the obituary due to the personal and detailed family information in this message which will be made public on our website. I have tried to contact the family but the one number we have is out of service. I would recommend trying to contact the family another means.
Kind regards,
Admin team
Robert and I worked together at BMONB close to 15 years, he was my Best Friend and the best work buddy at BMO Nesbitt Burns. My heart aches so much to know that my Best Friend is no longer here with us. He had so much passion for life, we shared so much joy, pain and success at work and in life to the point that he became my extended family friend at work. I will miss you Bobbie. I will be waiting for you my friend when Julie brings you home to Toronto this summer. God gained another Angel in Heaven and HIS Kingdom will be filled with your Beautiful Music. Rest In Peace my buddy. Julie my prayers is with you and know that you can always count on me to be here as your friend.
Our thoughts & prayers are with you Julie & the rest of the family of Robert. May you all be comforted knowing that he is back in the bosom of our heavenly Father. We pray for the repose of his soul & may he rest in peace. Take care & God bless you all.
I can actually tell you the first time I met Treb.
For those of you who don’t know, “Treb” is the shortened version of Robert spelled backwards.
It was Tuesday July 4th, 1978 at approximately 3:30 AM. I had taken the last seat in a car bound for Rich Stadium in Buffalo New York to see The Rolling Stones. When I got in the car Treb was seated on the other side and when introduced, he looked at me and simply said in a style that those who knew him well will immediately recognize “Greetings”.
That was the beginning of an almost 40 year friendship.
Those who knew Treb well know that he was a very talented self taught guitarist with a style steeped in the classic Blues and power blues of the late 60’s and early 70’s. Not limited to that however he was able to assimilate any style he chose. I remember when Van Halen was all the rage in the early 80’s Treb acquired a Kramer guitar of the style favoured by Eddie Van Halen. In short order had all but mastered Eddie’s two handed tapping technique. Then later when Stevie Ray Vaughan emerged, Treb got himself a Fender Stratocaster and in no time was whipping off masterful Albert King licks just like SRV.
I only knew a couple of chords when Treb invited me to his home in the early 80’s to “Jam”. Treb ended up showing me my first Eric Clapton lick which ignited a passion for the instrument in me which continues to this very day. He always stressed the value of practice.
Treb would also never criticise, was always supportive when teaching and would never discourage me from “going for it” no matter how good or ususally bad the result.
There are two thoughts about his playing philosophy that I will always remember. When we were standing across from each other the first time we were going to play together I asked him “So, what are thes rules?” to which he replied “The rules are….there aren’t any rules.”
The second thing I learned from him was that you don’t have to be a famous rock star to play like one. It just takes dedication and practice.
Treb got me on the floor of the Toronto Stock Exchange when it was still something to see. We also attended many memorable shows and concerts together over the years. In addition to the Rolling Stones we saw Jimmy Page & The Firm in Rochester New York,The Pretenders, Buddy Guy, U2, Roy Buchanan and Jeff Healey to name a few.
Treb was always up for a round of golf and barbeque around the pool at his parents house on Toledo Road.
In later years he was a wonderful and caring Son to his parents whenever they needed him and he would do whatever they required to make them safe and comfortable. I remember a number of occasions when my wife Rosa and I would run into Treb at the Dundas Street Grill in Etobicoke as he took his parents out for dinner. You could see the love, affection and respect he had for them.
Later on I remember when Treb met Julie and I had never heard him speak more highly of anyone. I recall him saying to me once that “No one could ever compare to Julie”. There was no doubt that she was the love of his life.
I am still trying to comprehend the fact that he is no longer with us but I feel so blessed that I was allowed to share many wonderful moments with him. His friendship was a great and precious gift for which I will forever be grateful.
Rest in peace my dear friend.
Love Dano & Rosa
Etobicoke, ON
My sincere condolences Julie to you, the family, the entire BMO family, and friends who knew him.
I also had the pleasure of working with Rob, or Pops, as some of us called him, for an awesome set of years. It was the first time anyone ever called me Hank and coming from Pops there was an authentic feel to it everyday. Loved it. He was never a dull moment and I won’t forget the many awesome animated discussions during the Global Financial Debacle.
To close out with one of Pops’ favourite sayings when he left for home…
Party On
So very sorry to hear of Robert’s passing. I had only met him a couple of times at genealogy-related socials but was impressed by his friendly personality and helpful attitude. Our condolences to you and your family Julie. Our thoughts are with you.